Portable electronic devices popular with the general consumer, such as MP3 players, CD players, and other similar device with sound or video are in wide spread use. These devices are usually stand-alone in that they contain the necessary speakers and display screens to function completely independent of any other supporting systems. It is desirable to interface such portable devices with a vehicle's systems so that audio from the portable device can be played through the vehicle's sound system. However, the connectors used in the automotive industry are substantially different from the standard connectors used by these portable devices. The interface connection is accomplished be means of an electrical connector adapter mounted to a convenient panel within the vehicle for receiving a standard 3.5 mm electrical plug from the portable device. The electrical connector adapter includes a set of pin contacts that mate with an electrical connector that is interconnected with the vehicle's sound system thereby connecting the plug contacts of the portable device directly to the vehicle's sound system.
An example of such an existing electrical connector adapter is shown In FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 where the connector adapter is indicated as 10. The adapter 10 includes a two piece insulating housing consisting of a main housing 12 and a cover plate 14 which is bonded to the end of the main housing 12. A machined metal collar 16 is fitted into a hole 18 in the cover plate 14 and held in place by either an interference fit or bonding. As best seen in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 three electrical contacts 20, 22, and 24 are arranged within the main housing 12 in respective positions. The electrical contacts terminate at their other ends in contact pins 26. A hole is formed axially in the collar 16 for receiving an electrical plug from a portable audio device and guiding the plug into mating contact with the three electrical contacts 20, 22, and 24. The contact pins 26 extend into a cavity 28 in the end of the main housing 12 opposite the collar 16 for receiving an electrical connector, not show, which is interconnected with a vehicle's sound system. The two piece insulating housing and the machined collar result in a durable product but are relatively expensive to manufacture. This is due to the separate parts that must be fabricated, inventoried, and assembled and the machining operation that is necessary to make the collar.
Additionally, the three electrical contacts 20, 22, and 24 are typically manufactured by stamping and forming each different contact on a separate carrier strip, resulting in three carrier strips of contacts. The three different carrier strips may be wound onto respective reels for later use or the three carrier strips can be immediately fed to a work station where one contact is severed from each respective carrier strip and inserted into the main housing 12 prior to attaching the cover plate 14. Alternatively, instead of winding the carrier strips onto reels, the contacts may be severed from all three of the carrier strips and saved in bulk form for later insertion into the main housing. Either method requires handling three different carrier strips and possibly three reels, or individual contacts in bulk form requiring specialized equipment to automate the insertion process. Such processes are cumbersome, expensive to carry out and prone to equipment malfunction.
What is needed is an electrical connector adapter having fewer parts that are easily manufactured and easily and accurately assembled into an adapter of robust design.